Left 4 Dead 2: A Little Taste of Happiness
by hidden-in-a-tree
Summary: There's always something to smile about – this still applies in a Goddamn zombie apocalypse. Oneshot.  Tragedy/Fluff. Nick/Ellis.


**Author's Note: **I dunno about this one. Short and sappy, sort of. I just figured … after all the sad stuff I've been writing, we could all use a little bit of happiness? No? Maybe it's just me then. =)

Oneshot. Tragedy/slight bit of fluff, maybe? I don't know how to describe this story.

**Disclaimer: **I own none of the characters mentioned in the story.

**Acknowledgements: **Thanks to Sean for reading this.

**Summary: **There's always something to smile about – this still applies in a Goddamn zombie apocalypse.

**A Little Taste of Happiness**

"Did I ever tell you –"

"Ellis, honest to God, is now the best time? We're leaving soon."

Ellis' eyebrows contracted and he pushed his hat further down on his head. He flashed Nick a haughty, annoyed look. "I wasn't goin' t'tell you a story 'bout Keith."

The thirty-five year old stopped putting shotgun shells into his pocket, turned around, stared at Ellis, and then asked, with one eyebrow cocked, "Oh yeah?"

Ellis frowned. "I swear."

Nick grinned, put the SPAS-12 down onto a table, and folded his arms. "Okay, I'm listening."

The twenty-three year old rolled his eyes and then a serious expression settled onto his good-natured features. "My ma always told me there was somethin' to smile 'bout. No matter what."

Nick blinked at him. "That's all you were going to say?"

"Yep."

"Well, Ellis, it looks like your dear old ma was wrong. I don't see anything to smile about," Nick replied, the smile vanishing from his chapped and cracked lips. His dark brown eyes took on a weary look, the creases in his face seeming to get deeper and darker. He looked older than thirty-five, much older.

"Nah, Nick, you're wrong," Ellis told him lightly. He knew he was treading on unsteady ground, and he didn't want to spark an argument. He just wanted – needed Nick to know this. He'd watched the transformation of his friend from grinning and happy to exhausted and elderly in less than a minute. It worried him immensely.

Nick sighed softly, scratched his forehead, and said, "I don't know how you can say that. Our families are dead; civilization as we know it is gone; we have no peace of mind; we're always running for our lives; and if you haven't noticed, we're nowhere close to being rescued. And even if we do get rescued," he continued, waving a hand at Ellis to be quiet and not interrupt him, "who says that safety will last? Didn't you ever see the _Dawn of the Dead_ remake? Wherever Kenneth wanted to go – that fort or whatever – fell. The infected got through the military's defenses. The military always falls in situations like this. Who says that wouldn't happen when we – if we – get rescued?"

Ellis was quiet for a few minutes, and Nick went back to pocketing rounds for his weapon. Finally, Ellis said softly, "We're still alive, ain't we? That's somethin'."

Nick didn't turn around. "Rochelle and Coach aren't."

"I know tha' Nick –"

"So how the hell can you say there's something to smile about?" Nick asked loudly, still not facing Ellis. "We both watched them die right in front of our faces and we couldn't save them. Our incompetence led to the death of our friends. Yeah, that's something to smile about all right."

Ellis took a deep breath, held it, and then let it out slowly. He blinked a few times, rubbed his eyes, and gently replied, "They don't have to live like we are anymore. They don't have t'worry about gettin' rescued or if they military'll fail or if they'll die the next time they set foot out the door. They're beyond all this – beyond the fear 'n' the anger 'n' the hurt."

The younger man felt encouraged when Nick turned around but didn't speak, so he continued on. "Yeah, you 'n' me are still alive. We might die tomorrow or we might not. That goes for anyone livin', even if they aren't in a zombie apocalypse. Anyone could wake up one mornin' and not know it's their last day. That's jus' life, and we all have to deal with it."

"This still doesn't make me want to smile."

"Nick, shut up, I wasn't done," Ellis growled. Nick put his hands up, palm out to Ellis in a gesture of surrender. Ellis licked his lips, thought for a second, and said, "I know it ain't much to smile 'bout. I was just sayin' is all. Nah – it ain't a cheery thought. An' maybe there are people who ain't always runnin' for their lives. That's a nice thought, tha' there are people who don't have to go through what we're goin' through. 'Cause this is hell, 'n' you an' I know it well. But we have each other. An' – an' that's a good reason to smile. The sun's shinin' too. There's fresh air, clean water, and sometimes somethin' to eat. Those are all damn good reasons to smile."

Having said his bit, Ellis busied himself getting ready to leave. He strapped his med kit onto his back, and picked up the axe from the floor where he'd dropped it hours before. As he was wondering if he had ammo for his pistol – which was strange, 'cause it seemed that the thing never ran out of rounds – Nick coughed to get his attention.

"You're right, Ellis," Nick told him quietly, looking directly into the younger man's eyes. "I'm damn lucky to have you. If it was me by myself, I wouldn't be here today. Especially these past few days without Ro and Coach … I wouldn't have lasted. So I guess, really, you're my reason to smile."

Ellis felt himself blushing, so he bent down abruptly to re-tie his shoe. His hasty change in altitude also made him miss Nick's embarrassed grin.

He was Nick's reason for smiling … Ellis liked the sound of that.


End file.
